


Geyser

by Nemi_Almasy



Series: Bounty-Verse [2]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, One-Sided Relationship, Pining, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:34:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemi_Almasy/pseuds/Nemi_Almasy
Summary: Prequel to Bounty. A one-shot following Chellick and Shepard's relationship over the five years leading up to the Bounty storyline.





	Geyser

**Author's Note:**

> CW: This story contains explicit sexual content

**2178**

Chellick Laratus hated the smell of hospitals.

It was the santised stench of death, that’s all he could conjure up whenever he stepped foot in one. At least down in the wards, death and decay had the decency to smell like they should. Shit covered up with the smell of roses hardly made it more palatable; that’s what the hospital was: shit with a spritz of perfume.

His last few visits to Huerta Memorial had been strictly business. The Alliance soldier whose case he was working with Castis Vakarian was staying indefinitely in a room on the eighth floor while she recovered from her frankly horrendous - if not impressive - wounds. So far, the majority of Chellick’s interactions with the woman, Lieutenant Jane Shepard (“Just Shepard”, she preferred), had been stiff at best. She was hurting and angry and besides Castis, Chellick was just about the only person she interacted with outside of her medical staff. He bore her vitriol just fine; he never minded much when women yelled at him anyway, and lieutenant Shepard wasn’t bad on the eyes.

He had a strong suspicion she would have kicked his ass if she’d known he’d given more than a moment’s pause to her sexual appeal; not that she was capable of even standing at the moment. It was, sadly, completely fucking predictable of Chellick to find her attractive, but she really checked a lot of his weird little fetish boxes. Human? Check. Bossy? Check. Muscular? Check. And that scar; it was a hell of a thing to survive what she had.

Castis would have ripped his mandibles off if he knew half the unsavory thoughts that had crossed his mind during his interviews with Shepard. Admittedly, Chellick didn’t completely understand  _ their _ relationship. Castis had taken the soldier under his wing like some motherless varren pup. Chellick  _ knew _ the commander had been spending unofficial time with Shepard, time that probably would have been frowned upon by his superiors, time that wasn’t exactly following C-Sec policy for investigations.

So should he feel bad that he’d decided, against his better judgment, to pay Shepard an unscheduled visit? He could lie to himself (and had) that the visit might aid the investigation, but it was a half-hearted excuse. There was nothing Shepard could tell him that he didn’t already know. He must have heard her story five times by now, and it wasn’t one he particularly enjoyed hearing. No, the truth was, he just felt compelled to see her, to maybe get a glimpse of that scar again: a morbid fascination.

It would be bad news if he showed up and Castis was there, so he’d waited until he knew the commander’s schedule was busy before he’d made his way up to the Presidium. He always felt out of place in the open (fake) sunlight with lush green grass, bubbling brooks, and chirping birds surrounding him. He was far more comfortable in his grime-covered life in the wards. Leave the Presidium to stuck-up self-righteous windbags like Castis.

“Detective Laratus, we weren’t expecting anyone from C-Sec.” An asari nurse stationed outside Shepard’s room was the first person to greet him.

“Unscheduled visit.” He held up a datapad. “Is she awake?”

“Yes, but…” The asari sighed and glanced into the room. “Not in the best mood today.”

“Does she have good moods? I haven’t seen that yet,” he laughed and the nurse laughed as well, though her laughter rang hollow.

“I guess you can go on in, then.”

Chellick knocked once on the door before letting himself in. Shepard was in her usual stance: staring moodily out the window with her eyebrows furrowed. She met his gaze in the reflection of the window and then turned to face him.

“What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“Nice to see you too, Shepard.”

“What could you possibly have to ask me that I haven’t already answered? I’ve told you everything a million times, I won’t tell it again.”

“I’m not here for that.” He took a seat in the chair next to her bed.

Her vivid green eyes scanned his face questioningly, then her expression shifted into a cruel smirk.

“Hoping to catch me during a bandage change? I’ve seen how you look at my scar.” She paused, her eyes flicking to his mouth, then back up to meet his gaze. “And my tits.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “but that’s not why I’m here. Castis visits you, doesn’t he?”

“Castis doesn’t want to fuck me.”

“Don’t get too big of a head, Shepard. You’ve got a nice scar, but I do just fine without having to resort to crippled soldiers.” He knew the comment could go one of two ways: either she would find it funny, or she would take extreme offense and tell him to leave.

She let out a soft laugh of disbelief as the corners of her mouth turned into a grin. “You’re a real asshole!”

“I only have to be nice to you on official C-Sec business.” He tapped on his datapad. “And I’m not Castis.”

“Castis is an asshole sometimes too,” she said, shifting to face him with some effort. “So what, you’re just here to visit me out of...pity? I don’t buy it.”

“Thought you might want some company that wasn’t laced with life advice.”

Shepard nodded. “He is good at that, isn’t he?”

“Castis and I don’t always see eye to eye.” Chellick shrugged. “He’s very by the book, doesn’t understand the utility of bending the rules, thinks all criminals are basically the same regardless of crime.”

“And you don’t?”

“I’m not above taking a bribe in the right situation, is all I’m saying. Anyway, the point is, I’m here because I doubt you’ve had anything resembling  _ fun _ since they admitted you. I brought some cards.” He pulled a deck from his pocket. “You know Cipritine Blitz?”

She gave him a withering look and he decided it was nice to see her show any emotion that wasn’t pure unadulterated rage. 

“Do  _ most _ Alliance soldiers know stupid turian card games?”

He began dealing the cards with a shrug, “ _ Most _ Alliance soldiers don’t know shit about any other cultures because they’re racist idiots.”

“If anyone’s allowed to be racist against turians, it’s me.” She gestured widely to her heavily-bandaged torso. It had been a turian that had inflicted the ghastly, puckered wound hiding beneath the gauze.

“Yeah, but I bet you hated us before that.”

“I didn’t! I don’t give a shit about turians or any other aliens. They’re as stupid and self-serving as humans are.”

“Turians aren’t what I’d call self-serving.”

“Are we using you as an example? Because I bet I’ve got you pegged,  _ detective. _ ”

“No,” he waved his hand. “I’m a bad example.”

“Well anyway, I haven’t got a problem with aliens.” 

She examined her cards with curiosity. They were different than human cards, Chellick knew; he’d played a few human games with his fellow C-Sec officers before, but he still preferred a Turian 70-card deck.

He hazarded another inappropriate topic. “You ever fucked an alien, lieutenant?”

“Don’t call me lieutenant,” she hissed, followed quickly by, “and no.”

“Hm, missing out.”

“I’ll bet you think I am.” She cast a sidelong glance at him. “You fucked humans before, detective?”

Almost exclusively, but he didn’t tell her as much, nor would he tell her he’d never had sex with another turian in his life. Instead, all he said was, “You can just call me Chellick.”

“Well, you didn’t answer my question, Chellick.”

“Maybe I have.”

“That’s a yes,” she laughed. 

“I’m surprised,” he admitted. “I would have guessed you’d at  _ least _ been with an asari.  _ Everyone _ loves asari. I’ve heard they’re very popular with humans too.”

“You have experience with them?” Shepard asked, quickly followed by, “How do you play this stupid game anyway?”

Chellick laid out his cards and explained the rules, expecting he would have to give a second or third explanation as they went, but that was underestimating Shepard. As soon as he’d finished explaining the rules and laid down his first two cards, she jumped right in as though she’d been playing the game her entire life.

He liked that; she was quick on the draw.

“I’ve been with asari,” he answered her question as they began their game. “They’re fun; well, I mean everyone’s different, right? But if we’re generalizing, humans are a bit softer.”

“You like soft, do you, Chellick? I might not be your girl, then.”

He glanced up from the cards in his hands, his eyes meeting her intense gaze. He flicked his mandibles at her and feigned interest in his hand.

“I think you’re softer than you pretend.”

As he lay down his next card, her fingers brushed the top of his hand. It was so soft and light a touch that he barely felt it at all except for the air passing over his scales as she moved; it made his breath catch in his throat and his plates stir. When he raised his eyes to meet her gaze yet again, she was staring at her cards as if nothing happened.

He said nothing outright, though his subvocals buzzed so low he doubted she could hear, not that she’d understand the sentiment even if she could. He catalogued the memory and made a mental note to pay Shepard more personal visits.

Maybe even when the case was over.

* * *

**2180 - June**

“Any officers in Bachjret district 28 south plaza, please respond. Repeat, any officers in district 28 south plaza, please respond.”

The alert came over the comm link as Chellick was making his way back from a meeting with his commander up on the Presidium. He didn’t want to answer an emergency call, but he was  _ technically _ on duty and would definitely get his ass chewed out if anyone found out he’d ignored it. His new commander - a stern and intimidating asari - was especially lacking in lenience toward these issues.

Still, he waited a few seconds to see if any officers actually stationed in the district responded. When no one came to the rescue, he tapped his comm link with a sigh.

“This is Chellick Laratus, location district 28 south plaza. What’s the emergency?”

“We have reports of a civilian altercation on Salvar Street, five hundred block.” A salarian’s voice sounded on the other end of the link. “Two armed krogan and a human. One of the krogan fired into the crowd. Approach with caution and try to apprehend the suspects.”

There was no way in hell he stood a chance against two fully-armed krogan, but the human he might be able to take. He pulled his gun from its holster at his hip, checked the thermal clip, then headed for the south plaza at a jog. He was only a few blocks away and it didn’t take long to arrive on the scene.

It was, to put it lightly, chaos. The south plaza was a large open commons usually filled with tables and chairs where patrons of the shops and restaurants surrounding the plaza could stop to take a rest or eat their meals, but at the moment, roughly half of those tables had been overturned, most of the plaza had emptied, and two krogan were chasing after a human in thick clothing with a mask on, all of them firing freely into the crowd.

“Everyone needs to clear out of here!” Chellick yelled at the civilians who had remained to watch the disaster unfold. “NOW!”

A few of them turned tail and ran but several remained, backing out of Chellick’s way, but too curious to leave. 

“Citadel security, drop your weapons!” Chellick lifted his gun and aimed at one of the krogan.

The massive krogan turned to his companion and yelled something, but as far as Chellick was from them, he couldn’t make out clearly what they said. One of them fired a shot back toward him, which he narrowly avoided, then they turned and disappeared down an alleyway. The human stood stock still at the other side of the clearing for a moment before taking off in the opposite direction.

Chellick sighed. Why couldn’t it ever be something routine and easy to take care of?

“Stop and put your hands up!” 

He opted to chase after the human, not wanting to press his luck with two krogan who were twice his size with guns as large as his head.

For a human, his target was pretty fast, but even the fastest humans couldn’t outpace a turian. He chased them down several side streets and into an alley, waiting until he was close enough before he launched himself forward and tackled the human to the ground.

She - and he could now tell it was a woman from the sound of her voice as she grunted and struggled against him - flailed her arms and put up a pretty decent fight until her eyes met his and all at once, she stopped and went completely limp.

He yanked the mask off of her head, more surprised than he probably should have been to find a familiar face beneath it, fiery red hair matted against her head.

“Shepard.” He shifted some of his weight off her, but left enough pressure to keep her pinned down.

“Chellick,” she huffed. “Fancy meeting you here.”

It had been three months since he’d first found her in his station. She’d gotten herself into bounty hunting as a new profession and had a few run-ins with C-Sec before winding up in his jurisdiction. She hadn’t forgotten his attitude toward humans either, the first time she’d been brought in, she’d done him a wonderful favor and in return, he’d let her go. Since then, he’d had four other run-ins with her that had ended in a similar fashion. 

It was almost infuriating how attractive Chellick found Shepard. Her little bounty hunter shtick didn’t hurt the image either. And judging by the way she knew all the right places to touch him, she’d been with a few turians since her time in the hospital. 

It would have probably done her some good to let her spend a night in a C-Sec cell, but Chellick was too weak and too predictable for that. Whatever little back and forth twisted relationship they had developed in the past three months, he liked it better than any of the women he met at bars. But he still hadn’t fucked her, not that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind, repeatedly. He wanted it badly, but he didn’t think it was a line she would ever cross.

“What were you doing with those krogan in the plaza?” He asked.

She reached a hand up and traced her finger along the edge of his mandible, which caused an involuntary flutter. His subvocals buzzed.  _ Damn her. _

“We were after the same target. They got a little angry that I was in their way and a fight ensued.” She shrugged. “I was just trying not to get shot.”

“What’s with the mask?”

“Too many security cameras and district 28 isn’t usually my scene. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Heard the ward’s new commander is kind of... _ strict _ .”

Chellick laughed. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“Technically I don’t think I’ve broken any laws,” Shepard said, shifting her legs beneath him so that his pelvis was flush with hers.

“Disturbing the peace, firing into an open crowd, evading a C-Sec officer…”

In answer, she leaned up and dragged her tongue up his neck, planting her lips against the soft underside and nipping at his scales. He groaned as his pelvic plates shifted partially open.

“Does it seem like I’m evading you, Chellick?” 

Her soft fingers inched up the back of his neck until they found the tender flesh just beneath his crest. She stroked the skin there in slow, rhythmic circles. The touch sent a jolt of pleasure down his spine and straight to his groin. He opened his mouth to berate her, but she met his lips with hers, pulling his full weight against her and wrapping her legs around his hips as her tongue slid against his.

_ Spirits _ but he wanted to rip off every suffocating piece of fabric and armor separating them and fuck her senseless. 

Even though he was on the clock and even though he knew it was a bad idea, he gave into Shepard’s insistent hands tugging on his shoulder and scratching down the plating on the back of his neck. Her tongue swirled around his, then she pulled her lips away, her breath hot and heavy on his neck as she moved to lick and nip at the scales below his mandibles.

That was the end of his battle against his pelvic plates. They fell open and his erection slid from its sheath. Shepard laughed against his neck.

“That a blaster in your pocket or are you just happy to see me,  _ detective _ ?”

He ground his pelvis against hers in response. He could and would have fucked her in that filthy alley, despite his own reservations about the germ-laden ground. When she gripped the skin of his neck between her blunt teeth, an unbidden growl escaped his throat, followed by her name echoing from both larynxes.

“This is  _ much _ more fun than a night in a C-sec cell,” she whispered. “What should I do for you, Chellick?” 

He was  _ well aware _ of the game she was playing and also perfectly happy to play it with her, already knowing how it ended. With anyone else, it would never have been an option, but Shepard had Chellick coiled tightly around her finger; they both knew the risks and benefits of the relationship.

“Anything,” Chellick gasped in answer to Shepard’s question. “Do anything.”

“Get up,” she demanded.

He liked when she ordered him around, and he complied readily. Rolling to the side of her, he propped himself up on his elbows and waited to see what came next, a small part of him knowing she might just run.

“Sit up,” she barked. “Against the wall there.”

He complied and was pleased when she straddled his lap and gripped his neck, kissing her way up his throat and nipping at the edge of his mandible.

“You’ve been... _ very _ accommodating, Chellick.” Her tongue swirled around the very tip of his mandible while her ass rocked slowly back and forth against his groin, dragging across his erection. His brain began to short circuit. “Maybe this time,” her fingers deftly unlatched his pelvic armor and slid inside his pants, “I won’t just use my hands.”

A jagged breath left his throat at the implication. Her fingers brushed lightly over his cock and then she shifted off of him, sliding down between his legs and pushing his pants away to expose his erection completely.

He didn’t even realize he was holding his breath as he watched her moist lips part to plant a kiss on the head of his cock. His legs twitched and his talons scraped against the ground.

“ _ Shepard. _ ”

She gripped him at the base of his cock and locked eyes with him for what felt like an eternity, then she dipped her head down, pressed the flat of her tongue against the ridged underside of his erection, and dragged it all the way up before taking him into her mouth as far as she could.

Her mouth was so hot, the suction so tight against him that it was overwhelming. All rational thought promptly vacated his brain as he leaned his head back and let her continue her ministrations, her mouth moving smoothly and rhythmically back and forth, her tongue swirling around the head of his cock with each upstroke. 

His eyes fell closed and his mouth went slack. The thought that a coworker, or worse - his commander, might find him in this situation fleetingly crossed his mind, but Shepard’s tongue quickly pushed the offending suggestion away just as quickly. He wouldn’t last long at this rate. Maybe it was the fact that he’d already had a sick little crush on Shepard, but he was  _ sure _ no one had  _ ever _ given him better head in his life. Pleasure was coursing up and down his body, pulsating between his legs as Shepard continued her steady, rhythmic movement. His legs shook as the pleasure mounted, culminating in a burst of blinding light behind his eyes, his cock twitching as he spilled himself into her mouth.

She removed her mouth with a slick  _ pop _ and his eyelids fluttered open.

“How’s that for a favor, Chellick?” She licked her lips. He felt delirious.

Without thinking, he lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear; immediately he realized it was too familiar a gesture, and saw how her body tensed at the action. He dropped his hand back to his side and she shook away whatever it was that had just occurred between them, sitting back on her legs and fixing him with a stern, but not cruel, gaze.

“Put your pants back on before somebody catches us.” It wasn’t an order this time, merely a helpful suggestion. She rose to her feet and fished a box of mints from the inner pocket of her jacket.

“You’d better go. I have to call in to the station, tell them the suspects are still at large.”

“You’re all right, Chellick.”

“No I’m not. Now, go.”

She didn't wait to be told again. She took off in the opposite direction they had come from and, as he pulled his pants back up and reattached his armor, he considered Shepard’s reaction to the intimate moment they had shared.

He decided it was better not to dwell on it.

* * *

**2180 - July**

“Detective Laratus, could you stay behind a moment?”

Chellick froze as Castis Vakarian’s voice sounded from the front of the auditorium at the end of the monthly Citadel-wide C-sec briefing. He whipped around and slunk down the stairs to meet Castis, several pairs of eyes watching him go.

Castis was in the running for the role of executor, if the rumors were true - that was the full extent of what Chellick knew at any rate. He hadn’t said more than a brief ‘hello’ to Castis since the trial, and it had been more than two years since then.

Chellick saluted when he reached the base of the auditorium where Castis stood gathering up the supplies he’d used for the day’s presentation.

“At ease, detective.”

“You wanted to speak, sir?” Chellick feigned innocence. 

Jane Shepard had been booked at this station four different times in the last few months - it was only a matter of time before Castis noticed.

“I know we’ve gone our separate ways since Jane’s trial,” Castis kept his gaze trained on the briefcase in front of him. “I was wondering if...have you heard from her, Chellick?”

If Chellick didn’t know better, he would have thought he heard the slightest keening note in Castis’ subvocals. He flicked his mandibles and shrugged; lying was pointless if Castis had seen his precinct’s records.

“She’s been booked a few times at the station in my district, sir.”

With a sigh, Castis shook his head. “I had hoped for more from her.”

“She’s not, uh…” Chellick searched for the right words. “She’s just trying to make a living. She’s not a criminal, Castis.”

“Oh really? It was my understanding that people don’t spend the night in C-Sec cells unless they’ve committed a crime. And last time I checked committing a crime makes one a criminal.”

“Come on. She’s running bounties is all. She gets in the way sometimes and we bring her in. It’s not like she’s moving red sand or something. Why ask me anyway? Why not pull one of her warrants and bring her in yourself?” 

Chellick still didn’t fully understand the relationship Shepard and Castis had, but he knew for certain that Castis had allowed himself to grow too invested in her life. Not that Chellick had a lot of room to judge; Shepard had been sucking him off on a regular basis for the past month.

Castis only grunted in response to Chellick’s suggestion. “How...how is she otherwise?”

“I don’t know, Castis, we don’t exactly chat when I bring her in.” Not a complete lie.

“Just...forget I asked. It was unprofessional of me. If you see her, please convey my disappointment.” He clasped his briefcase shut, nodded curtly, and left.

‘Please convey my disappointment’ was as close as someone as straight-laced as Castis would ever get to ‘I hate your fucking guts, you cruel bitch’, but Chellick could read between the lines. Shepard had been angry after the trial, and she had taken it out on both of them, but he knew Castis bore the brunt of it. Whatever words had been exchanged between the two of them, it had completely destroyed their relationship.

Chellick was most certainly not going to convey any of Castis’ feelings to Shepard, because he had a feeling she would break his jaw if he even mentioned the commander. Better to let them figure it out themselves, if they ever spoke again.

He didn’t want to be stuck in the middle, that much was for-fucking-sure.

* * *

**2180 - September**

Two months had passed since Chellick’s last run-in with Shepard and (not that he was  _ checking _ ) she had been noticeably absent in the C-sec logs in other districts as well. Either she was avoiding him, or she was just learning how to be subtle with her bounties. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was disappointed by her absence, but the thought lingered in the back of his mind.

He certainly wasn’t going to let himself mope over someone as demonstrably callous as Jane  _ fucking _ Shepard, though, so he kept himself busy with other women, mostly strangers he met in bars, and never as frequently as he would have liked. In the wards, humans and turians had a better relationship than up on the Presidium, but it was still tense most of the time; there weren’t exactly human women lining up to sleep with turians on a regular basis.

Occasionally he went out with friends to get his mind off work, not worrying himself with the prospect of bringing someone home, instead sitting around drinking beer and playing cards in a dive bar where he knew he wouldn’t run into his judgmental coworkers. It was the type of bar where he might have found himself in trouble if the patrons knew he was C-sec, but he wasn’t exactly turning up in uniform.

The place was, unfortunately, heavy with turians and batarians, but lacking in much else. No distractions, he supposed. Try as he might, he never could take much interest in his own race; he’d never been a very good turian.

“There’s two sweet things at the bar eyeing us up.” Chellick’s friend Hathius didn’t have an off mode when it came to picking up women. Inevitably whenever they met up for these nights out, Hathius went home with one or more turians on his arm.

“Not Chellick’s type though, eh?” Their batarian friend Farah chuckled.

“Too pointy,” Hathius agreed. “Not many humans in this joint, Chellick.”

“I didn’t come out tonight for that anyway. I just needed a break from this fucking week. Our new commander has been riding the captain’s ass and he’s cracked down on all of us because of it.” Chellick rubbed his brow plate. “I need about ten more drinks before I’ll stop feeling stressed.”

“Sounds like it’s gonna be a good night.” Hathius flicked his mandibles into a grin.

“Every night out is a good night for you, Hath,” Farah noted. “But I’m not opposed to watching Chellick drink his weight in cheap dextro beer.”

“It  _ is _ cheap,” Chellick agreed. “Tastes like shit, but C-sec pays like shit so it’s all I can afford.” He lifted his drink to take another swig and his eyes caught the door as it opened.

A familiar redhead entered the bar, slightly scuffed up and wearing a scowl. Her gaze was set on the bar and she looked like she needed a drink even more than Chellick did. She didn’t notice him, tucked away as he was in the corner booth, but he watched her glide across the room like she owned it, stopping to order a drink before leaning her back against the bar and scanning the room. 

“What’re you staring at?” Farah followed Chellick’s gaze. “Oh. A human. She your type, bud?”

“Unfortunately,” Chellick muttered into his drink, turning his gaze back to the table with some effort. “Are we going to play blitz or what?”

“Ah, I hate blitz. Can’t we play Skyllian-five poker?” Hathius asked.

“Fine, I don’t care.” Chellick’s eyes strayed back to the bar while Hathius pulled out a deck of cards and shuffled them several times. 

Shepard was sipping her drink and observing the room with her familiar scowl. There was a scrape above her eyebrow, and the elbow of her jacket had torn, likely both results of a recent bounty run, though judging by the look on her face, it hadn’t gone well for her. Then again, it was always hard to tell with her - she was nearly always pissed off about something.

Chellick chugged the rest of his beer so fast it burned down his throat, then stood up. “I’ll be right back. Getting another drink. You two need anything?”

Farah waved him off and Hathius was too busy laying out cards, so Chellick wandered over to the bar against his better judgment. There was something about Shepard that turned off rational decision making in his brain. 

Without looking at her, he sidled up next to her, leaning forward against the bar and placing his drink order. She glanced sideways upon hearing his voice, greeting him with rolled eyes and a soft, almost exasperated sigh.

“I  _ would _ run into you here.”

“Nice to see you too, Shepard.” He met her gaze, looking her up and down for a moment. “You look like hell.”

“Thanks, feel like it too.” She spun around, leaning up on the bar next to him. For a human, she was tall, but next to Chellick, and surrounded by plenty of other turians, she seemed incredibly small.

“Bounty?” He nodded to her ripped jacket.

“Yeah. Fucking elcor of all things. It  _ didn’t _ go well. Not my fault though. Jack bungled it.” She took a long swig from her drink. “Probably shouldn’t be blowing money on booze, but I need a drink after  _ that _ debacle.”

“Let me buy you one,” Chellick offered.

She cast a skeptical glance at him. “Why? Anyway it’s not like C-Sec’s paying you a princely sum either.”

“I make more than you do and I don’t have a bunch of extra mouths to feed,” he said. “Look, this,” he gestured between them, “It’s mutually beneficial. It doesn’t mean I can’t be nice to you out of the goodness of my heart once in a while.”

“Aw, Chellick, I didn’t know you even had a heart.” She downed the rest of her drink. “Fine, if you want to buy, I’m not going to say no.”

He flicked his mandibles at her and rolled his eyes. “So, what, you’re just here drinking alone?” He glanced around the room. “Usually Thane’s hovering somewhere to make sure you don’t vomit your guts out.”

Shepard waved her hand dismissively. “I was too pissed off at Jack after the bounty run. Needed some time alone.”

“Oh. Well,” Chellick pushed himself back from the bar, “I’ll leave you alone then.”

“No.” She huffed and grabbed his arm. “It’s fine, Chellick, Jesus. Truth be told, I don’t like drinking alone anyway. It goes from ‘taking the edge off’ to ‘really fucking depressing’ real fast.”

It irritated Chellick immensely how relieved he felt that Shepard hadn’t sent him away. Of course, he didn’t voice this, instead sliding her new drink to her as the bartender presented it before grabbing his own.

“I’m playing Skyllian-five with a couple of my friends.” He nodded toward the booth in the back. “You can join us if you like.”

She cracked her knuckles. “Skyllian-five, huh? I’ll wipe the floor with your friends.”

“We aren’t playing for actual credits,” he warned. “We’re all too broke.”

“That’s fine. I just like winning.”

Feeling more pleased than he ought to that Shepard was joining them, he led her across the room to the booth where Farah and Hathius were waiting for his return. He slid back into his side of the booth and Shepard sidled up next to him until their shoulders were brushing, though there was plenty of room for her to leave space if she had wanted. He tried not to read into it.

“Er, guys, this is my fr-” He caught himself quickly. “This is Shepard. We, uh-” How to describe their relationship?

“I suck his dick to get out of paying bail,” Shepard finished for him, eloquent as always.

Farah burst out laughing and Hathius flicked his mandibles in a grin.

“I like her,” Farah said. “She’s feisty.”

Hathius laid out cards for Shepard, “You know how to play?”

Her face was a mask of innocence. “No, could you teach me?”

Chellick watched as Hathius explained the rules to Shepard, who was already extremely familiar with them, who had wiped the floor with him in Skyllian-Five more than once during his visits to her hospital room. Poor Hathius and Farah weren’t going to know what hit them.

“So how do you two know each other?” Farah asked as they began. “Just a criminal he brought in one day or…” She looked between them with a shrug.

“Kind of a long story,” Chellick said.

“Chellick knew me before I turned into a filthy degenerate,” Shepard laughed. “Unfortunately or fortunately for him.” She glanced sideways at him, hiding her cards from his view as though he stood any chance of beating her. 

“Hm.” Chellick stared down at his own hand, which wasn’t fantastic. “My brain says ‘unfortunately’, but there are other parts of me that don’t mind knowing you.”

“I’ll bet.” Shepard grinned. “How do you two know Chellick?”

“Oh, you know. You get to know C-Sec officers who are lenient about certain things. Chellick’s lived down in Bachjret for...what, ten years now?”

“Ten years? Jesus, Chellick, how old  _ are _ you?” Shepard cocked her head at him.

He flicked his mandibles in irritation. “I’m only thirty-three. Joined up with C-Sec as a way to get away from my family. They assigned me to this dump and eventually it felt like home, so I stayed.” 

“Bachjret  _ is _ a dump,” Shepard agreed. “But it’s better than the other wards. Better than bougie Kithoi by a long shot.”

“Say, how’d you end up in Bachjret, Shepard?” Chellick asked, genuinely curious.

When she first showed up at his station several months ago, nearly two years had passed since the trial against Nihlus Kryik. She had dropped off the face of the station after the trial, severing ties with both Castis and himself. How she had chosen Bachjret of all places was beyond him.

“Lots of crime. Great place to run bounties. All the worst scum lives here.” She didn’t look away from her cards. “Wasn’t sure if you were still down here, but it can never hurt to have someone you know when you’re breaking a few laws to bring in bounties.  _ Clearly _ I was right about that much.”

“Oh, so you came here to exploit me.” He feigned upset.

“Yeah, exactly.”

As predicted, Shepard wiped the floor with all of them at Skyllian-five. Three rounds of drinks later, she had cleaned them all out and was griping that they should have played for real money. Hathius kept expressing his genuine disbelief that Shepard had never played before, but Farah had realized two rounds earlier what game Shepard was playing. It didn’t matter, she won in the end and the game devolved into sitting around drinking until Hathius decided to pursue a turian woman at the bar.

“Well,” Farah looked around the booth as Hathius left. “I’m gonna turn in. I’ve had my fill of losing tonight. I’ll keep my eyes on you next time, Shepard.”

“Just beginner’s luck,” Shepard gave her a saccharine smile.

“Right,” Farah replied flatly. “I’ll see you around, Chellick.”

“Bye, Farah.”

With that, Chellick found himself alone in the booth with Shepard, who had done nothing to put any distance between them as the night progressed. He was feeling slightly buzzed and, if Shepard’s rosy cheeks were any indication, so was she.

“So...I guess you’ll probably head home too?” Chellick asked, unsure of what to do with himself in this situation. It had been several years since he’d been alone with Shepard outside of a situation where he was apprehending her.

She snorted and shook her head. “You’re such a fucking idiot, Chellick.”

“Excuse me?”

“You want me to go home?”

“What does it matter what I want?”

She folded her arms and stared at him. “What  _ do _ you want?”

He wasn’t entirely sure what she was playing at. What he wanted - flushed with warmth, his thigh touching hers - was to take her home and fuck her until she forgot her name or he forgot his or maybe both. He didn’t exactly see the night going his way. Shepard had thus far only extended such offers when her ass was on the line and even then, it still hadn’t been outright sex.

When he didn’t answer her, she surprised him by sliding onto his lap - somewhat abruptly, which was jarring - straddling him and gripping his cowl. “What do you want, Chellick?”

His breath caught in his throat, his eyes rapidly scanning her lips.

“Shepard.” He wasn’t sure what to say. 

“I’ve had a long day,” she said, moving her mouth so close to his face that he could feel the warmth of her breath. “And I haven’t been laid in over a month.” Suddenly and unexpectedly, her hand slid into his pants, brushing against his pelvic plates, which stirred readily at her touch. “So why don’t you take me home so I can see what this can do.” Her fingers brushed against his partially exposed sheath. 

The action, brief though it was, threatened to free him from his sheath entirely. He let out a shaky sigh. “I can do that.”

She removed her hand from his pants and slid off of him, patting his cheek before shuffling out of the booth. “Good boy.”

Whether there was an ulterior motive or not, he didn’t really care at the moment. All he could think about was seeing her fully naked. Fully naked and asking him to have sex with her. The thought alone nearly had him out of his sheath again. 

They took a mass transit bus back to his apartment and, because it was well before last call, the bus was entirely empty. Seeing this, Shepard climbed onto his lap and pressed her lips against his, so soft and warm and inviting. His tongue quickly moved to meet hers, his hands gripping her hips as she rocked against his pelvis. Slowly, she moved her kisses down to his neck, nipping at his scales and occasionally dragging her tongue up to where his facial plating met his neck. 

The feeling of her ass grinding down against his sheath coupled with her mouth moving against his neck meant he was fighting a losing battle trying to keep himself sheathed. As the bus approached his stop, his erection freed itself, and Shepard grinned against his neck, but said nothing. She climbed off of him and together they departed the bus. 

The walk across the apartment lobby had a sobering effect, the harsh fluorescent lights a stark contrast to the dim lighting of the bar and the bus. When they stepped into the elevator, Chellick pressed the button for his floor and then Shepard was against him again, their mouths coming together, both of them breathing heavily through their noses. 

Chellick hardly recalled leaving the elevator or walking down the hall to his apartment. All he could think about was getting Shepard undressed. One minute they were in the elevator kissing and the next he knew he was leaning against the closed door in the dark of his apartment, watching Shepard as she stood in front of him. 

“You stay there,” she demanded. “Take off your clothes and come when I call you.”

A little shiver ran up his spine. His body reacted far too readily to being ordered around by her, his heart pounding in anticipation. He watched her slink away into his room and hurriedly began undressing, nearly falling over in his eagerness. 

He was obedient and remained glued to the spot once he had stripped down, standing against the door, slightly cold and fully erect. It felt like ages before Shepard finally called, “Get in here, Chellick.”

Far too quickly, he stumbled forward, rushing into his room and slowing in the doorway in an attempt at looking suave, which immediately failed at the sight of Shepard lying across his bed with her legs spread and her fingers moving slowly between her legs. 

It was almost too much. For a moment he couldn’t move, his mandibles flared open, his eyes roving up and down her body, all along the scar that ran from beneath her right breast to her left hip. He had never been more enamored with a scar, but then, he had never met anyone who could have survived what Shepard did. 

She leaned her head back and let out a soft moan as her fingers continued to move. “You gonna get over here or do I have to do this by myself?”

He didn’t wait for her to ask again. He rushed over to the bed and kissed his way up her stomach, tracing his fingers delicately over the knotted, raised flesh of the fully healed scar. 

“You and that fucking scar,” she huffed. 

He didn’t waste too long on it, though, moving his mouth up to her chest, swirling his tongue across her nipple, pleased with the gasp this elicited. He spent a while, probably too long, kissing and fondling her breasts while she arched her back to meet his touch. In fact, he knew he was spending too long, because she told him outright. 

“Jesus, Chellick, would you just fucking get inside of me already?”

His erection was positively throbbing between his legs. Shifting his weight, he grabbed his cock and positioned himself between her legs, sliding inside of her with a snap of his hips. She let out a sharp gasp that ended in a near moan and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he’d hurt her or not. She seemed impossibly small now that he was on top of her, and  _ impossibly tight.  _

“Are you alright?” He asked, freezing in place. 

Her eyes were half open, lips parted slightly. “Didn’t seem as big when it was in my mouth if I’m being honest.” She gripped his sides with her thighs, resting them against his hip spurs. 

“If it hurts I can-“

She laughed at this. “It doesn’t hurt.” She gripped the back of his neck, sliding her fingers up to the soft skin beneath his crest and massaging it, pulling his face closer to hers. “Alright, Chellick, I’ve got an order for you.”

He was holding so still he felt like the slightest gust of air might shatter him. She clenched her muscles around his cock and his mandibles fluttered of their own accord. 

“What...what order?”

“Fuck me as hard as you can.”

He tried to swallow his enormous anxiety. Despite several run-ins with Shepard over the last few months, he really hadn’t ever expected to have sex with her. He would never have called himself a skilled lover by any stretch of the imagination, but he could usually last long enough to make it worth the time for both him and his bedmate. Sheathed to the hilt inside Shepard while she demanded that he fuck her senseless, so aroused and excited he felt liable to burst, he was more than a little concerned things might end before they had really begun. 

No way to find out but to do it, he supposed. 

He propped himself up on one elbow and placed his other hand against the headboard to brace himself, then he rolled his hips against Shepard’s slowly at first, but faster and harder at her insistent moans. 

“Oh,” she gasped, craning her neck and closing her eyes. “Harder, Chellick.”

He grunted, burying his face against her neck and gasping into her skin as he complied. 

_ Harder. Harder. Faster. Oh god.  _

The sounds she was making were almost too much. He ground his hips against hers as fast as his shaking legs would let him, thrusting harder and harder until he was panting for breath and she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. 

“ _ Chellick,”  _ his name left her throat in a heady moan and it was all he could do to keep going just a little longer. He was so close to the edge and it was threatening to push him over. 

Her nails scraped down his back, she arched against him, moaning and gasping and that was it. It was like he’d been hit by a train, a dizzying explosion of color behind his eyes, vaguely aware of his subvocals buzzing as he came inside of her. His body slowed of its own accord, a few last desperate pumps before he came to a halt and fell still on top of her. 

He had fantasized about this moment since his first meetings with Shepard, but he could hardly believe it had actually happened. 

She patted his shoulder and shoved softly but insistently against him. “You’re too heavy, Chellick.”

Somewhat reluctantly, he rolled onto his back next to her and the two of them lay catching their breath for several seconds. He wanted her to stay, to wait for him to catch his second wind so they could try again. It hadn’t lasted nearly long enough. 

“Oh man,” Shepard let out a soft sigh. “I really needed that.”

Her skin was slightly red from his plates chafing against it. 

“It’s not the best position,” Chellick said. 

“Yeah, but sometimes a little pain feels good.” She traced her fingers against the raw skin and sat up. “By the way. I’m running a bounty tomorrow that requires a little breaking and entering so...keep this in mind if we run into each other.”

Chellick did a bad job of hiding his annoyance, his breath escaping in an exasperated huff. “Guess I should have know there was an ulterior motive.”

“Oh come on, Chellick. I wouldn’t have had sex with you unless I wanted it. But you can’t act like this was unexpected either.” She stood up and shuffled awkwardly across the room to his bathroom, leaving the door open as she cleaned up. “You weren’t half bad.”

“Gee, thanks,” he growled. Maybe he didn’t have a right to be irritated. It was stupid of him to pretend this was anything other than a relationship of convenience. 

Shepard leaned against the bathroom door frame when she was done. “I’m not trying to make you feel used. You’ve helped me out a lot these past few months.”

Spirits damn her and her beautiful muscular body, standing stark naked in front of him. He should have stayed angry, but he didn’t really want to. 

“Fine. That’s how it is.” He shrugged. “We fool around, I do you some favors.”

He couldn’t read the look on her face. “Look if you’re not comfortable with this relationship…”

“That’s not it at all.”

“Then what, Chellick?” She growled, crossing the room and gathering up her clothes to dress. 

“You know, I don’t think it’s outrageous to say we’re friends.” He sat up. “Or did you forget Castis wasn’t the only one who spent time with you while you were confined to a hospital bed for nine months?”

She stopped halfway through dressing and stared at him. For a moment, he was sure she was angry, sure he had crossed a line mentioning Castis, sure she would flee the scene and never speak to him again. 

But to his surprise, her face softened. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I said I’m sorry, Jesus, Chellick, I won't say it again. Ok.” She pulled her shirt on. “Friends with benefits? I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Sometimes there are strings attached and sometimes there aren’t.” She crossed the room and stood next to his side of the bed, jabbing her finger threateningly against his chest. “But don’t ever pull that sappy shit where you stroke my hair and look at me with those big green doe eyes alright?”

“What are you talking about?” He balked.

“I’m just saying. You get a little emotional after you blow your load. This,” she gestured between them, “it’s just sex.”

“Fine!”

“Good! I’m not staying the night either. That’s a line I refuse to cross. Look, I’m just laying down some ground rules here now that we’re actually fucking and I’m not just sucking you off in the interrogation room.”

The promise that this might happen again in the future was worth agreeing to whatever terms she laid down. Even he knew she was right about getting emotional from time to time, but he maintained it was only hormones, and that it meant next to nothing. 

“All right, those are your ground rules. So what are you still doing here?” He asked. 

She threw her hands in the air. “Fuck if I know. I’ll see you around, Chellick.”

And with that she left his apartment without another word.

* * *

**2181 - March**

It was nearly two in the morning and Chellick found himself lying on the floor in his living room, Shepard sprawled out naked next to him, gesturing wildly with her hands as she told him a story about a bounty hit she’d run earlier that day.

For six months now, they had been sleeping together on a semi-regular basis. It was usually after or in anticipation of some monumental fuck-up on Shepard’s part, but Chellick had been helping her out of plenty of scrapes recently without any thought as to whether or not she would return the favor. Just last month he had encountered her out on the streets, so drunk she could barely walk and had taken her home, holding her hair outside her crumbling apartment while she puked all over his shoes. And how many run-ins had he had with Jack now where he let her go, purely for Shepard’s sake? He’d lost count. In his mind at least, they were beyond tallying up favors at this point, but he wasn’t sure Shepard agreed. He supposed it didn’t really matter, as long as they were having a good time the way things were.

“Anyway, I’ve never seen Tali lose her shit like that, but it was hysterical.” Shepard finished her story, resting her previously gesticulating hands across her stomach and splaying her fingers along the lines of her scar.

“I wouldn’t want to catch Tali’s ire,” Chellick said. “Lucky you got the target, though.”

“It’s not luck. I’m good at this.”

“You could be good at a lot of things, I’d imagine.”

She gave him a withering look. “Okay,  _ Castis _ .”

Chellick snorted. “Excuse me for being a supportive friend.”

There was a moment’s pause. Shepard stared up at the ceiling and Chellick stared at Shepard. He propped his head up on his hand and watched the wheels turn in her head as she considered whatever she was about to say next, her eyebrows knitting together uncertainly. He had become far too familiar with her face in the last few months, with the intimate details of her body - every freckle, every scar. He stayed silent and waited for her to speak.

After a few minutes, she rolled onto her side to face him. “Hey, Chellick?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you seem to have such a thing for humans?”

“Why do you seem to have such a thing for turians?”

Her lips creased into a frown and she brushed her fingers over her scar. “It doesn’t exactly take a trained psychologist to figure out why I went after turians.” She surprised him by grabbing his hand and pressing it gently against the line of her scar. “A turian hurt me worse than I’ve ever been hurt in my life.” Her eyes rose to meet his. “It’s nice to know that some of them are softer than that.”

He felt a squeezing sensation in his chest and looked away from her, moving his gaze down to her scar, ghosting his fingers over the familiar path.

“My dad was really abusive,” He said in answer to her question. No one really knew about his past besides his family, and he didn’t speak to them anymore. “It’s not very common in turian society, but we lived on a small colony world and...we were sort of separated from a lot of standard Hierarchy procedures.” Shepard watched him with a frown, but it wasn’t the same irritated look she’d given him earlier - there was a softness in her eyes that he didn’t often see, but he also trusted the sincerity of it when he saw it.

“Anyway he used to beat the shit out of me.” He kept his eyes glued firmly on her scar. “And my older brother never had to deal with it. He was always a lot more...I dunno. He was more like dad. We moved to this mixed colony world on the edge of Council space when I was a teenager and there were humans there. I liked them because they seemed so soft...incapable of hurting me, you know?”

She traced her fingers over his where they rested on her stomach, but said nothing.

He shrugged. “I used to sneak off to try my luck with humans in the city. I met this girl...her name was Jenna. We were both just dumb teenagers, but I fell in love with her and that was it. I just...didn’t want anything to do with my own kind.”

“You mean you’ve never slept with a turian?” Shepard asked.

“Never,” he admitted.

She gave him a sad look, but it wasn’t pitying. “What ever happened to Jenna?”

Chellick shrugged. “My brother hated humans and he kept sending her threats when he found out about us. Eventually she stopped returning my calls out of fear. I haven’t talked to my family since I left for the Citadel. It was my dad who pushed me to join C-Sec, but it meant getting away from him and my brother, so I did it. I don’t know what I’d do if I saw them again.” He clenched his fist and just as quickly unclenched it. “Guess it’s not worth thinking about.”

“That’s awful that they treated you that way, Chellick.”

“I’m just glad I’m not like them.” He looked her up and down. “Your family…?”

For a moment she looked stricken and he regretted thinking it was an appropriate line of conversation. Shepard had been completely unwilling to divulge anything about her past beyond the attack on Elysium all throughout the investigation, and even now, years after the trial and more than a year since she had come back into his life, she almost never spoke about her time in the Alliance or anything that occured before that. It was like she had killed the last of her old self when she cut ties with Castis and come back born anew.

Chellick opened his mouth to apologize, but the look of shock on Shepard’s face had disappeared, and its place, thick tears were welling in her eyes. This made Chellick feel ten times worse - he hadn’t seen her cry since the trial.

“Shepard, forget I said anything, I-”

She bit her lip and shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes and staring up at the ceiling unblinking for several seconds.

“My family was killed during a raid on Mindoir when I was sixteen. The Alliance saved me, but it was too late for my family. Captain Anderson saved me.” She took a shaky breath. “And then I watched him die too.”

“Shepard…”

“I don’t really talk to anyone about what happened to me.” She clamped her hand over his where it still rested on her stomach, curling her fingers around his unexpectedly. “I know I probably should, but I don’t. At night I still dream about it. It’s the same every time. I’m running through the woods and he’s chasing me and I know what’s coming and I can’t stop it. And then he tears into me and I wake up screaming and I can’t comfort myself because he’s still out there somewhere.”

Chellick had rarely seen her exhibit such raw, honest emotion. He wasn’t sure what to say. The truth was, there were nights when he had nightmares about what had happened to her too - he’d been forced to watch the video of it far too many times for the trial. He could only imagine what it must be like for her, having lived it - having somehow, miraculously survived it.

“I thought what happened on Mindoir was the worst thing that could happen to me,” she continued talking. “I wish that were true.” More tears welled in her eyes and she turned her face away to hide them. “Sometimes I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“Shepard.” Chellick wiped some of the tears from her cheek with his thumb. When she wouldn’t look at him, he gently cupped her cheek. “ _ Jane. _ ”

She turned back to face him, eyes glistening. “You and Castis are the only ones who know what I’ve been through, Chellick. I mean...there are others who’ve seen the video, and I’ve told Thane and Tali and everyone who I am, but...they don’t know. They weren’t there at the worst of it. On the days when I would have rather died than go on living in pain and suffering.”

“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. 

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you at the trial,” she said softly.

“You were angry. It’s fine.”

“It’s _ not  _ fine.”

And for a moment, he saw the real Jane Shepard - who she was underneath the steely armor she’d built up around her over the last three years. He saw a kindness she very rarely let anyone see.

With a sigh, she pushed herself up and rose to her feet and he felt an immediate heaviness settle upon him at the thought of watching her leave after the moment they had just shared - the raw open honesty.

But she didn’t move to get dressed. Instead, she stood over him looking a little lost.

“Chellick, would it be okay if I stayed here tonight?”

He got up and took her hands. “Of course, Shepard.”

* * *

**2182 - January**

The human holidays had come and gone, which was a relief to Chellick as he was getting sick of the obnoxious decorations and the multitude of humans dressed in garish sweaters so colorful they made his head spin. Not to mention how many humans took vacation time during the holidays to celebrate. There were still stragglers away for the human new year and it left his precinct understaffed and overburdened with drunken idiots still celebrating and non-humans taking advantage of the chaos.

It was during a rare reprieve from walking patrols, cruising around the ward in a police cruiser instead, that Chellick picked up Shepard for a quick romp in the back of the cruiser before he had to get back to work and she had to go after a bounty. The cramped backseat of a cruiser was a less than ideal location, but it served its purpose, and when they were done they sat next to each other in the back seat, still naked, catching their breath.

“This is getting to be too reliable,” Shepard said, gesturing between them. “I need to have sex with someone who isn’t a turian.”

“Don’t joke about that,” Chellick laughed.

“Seriously.” She shoved him playfully.

He leaned his head against the back of the seat, observing her in silence. She looked back at him with her bright green eyes and it felt like a vice was squeezing around his heart.

What the fuck was he doing?

“What?” Shepard asked, rolling her eyes. “Why are you staring at me?”

He looked away, his heart fluttering. It was hardly the first time he’d felt that familiar swell in his chest when he looked at her, but now it was getting harder to ignore or shrug off. Their run-ins had become far too frequent and while they had both long since admitted they were friends, in whatever perverse sense of the word, this felt like something else.

But he knew whatever it was that was building up inside of him, Shepard didn’t feel the same. He would never delude himself into thinking she did. 

The truth of the matter was he was sincerely worried he was falling in love with Jane Shepard. It had been too long since he loved anyone to convince himself it was true, but the feelings remained all the same.

“We’re looking for a new apartment.” Shepard made small talk while Chellick mulled over his thoughts. “Not sure where, but the place we’re in now is raising rent and I don’t think we can swing it with the way bounties have been trickling in lately.”

Chellick was potentially due for a move soon too. His captain had put his name in the running for an open captain position in district 42. If he got the job, he would move closer to the district, which meant deeper in the ward, which meant fewer run-ins with Shepard - she and her ilk rarely strayed as low into the ward as far as he’d seen.

Maybe it was better if that happened - a little distance, less frequent visits, might help quell these feelings that were rapidly developing. What use were they? What could come of it but heartache?

“I don’t know how much cheaper you can find than the shit you’re living in now.”

She laughed. “We’ll find something.”

There was another prolonged silence.

“Chellick?”

“Hm.”

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, shaking her head. “Never mind.” A quick glance at her watch. “I need to head home.”

“I can take you,” he offered.

“Sure.”

So they dressed and he drove her home and she surprised him with a kiss goodbye. He watched her go, walking up to the shithole she called home, her drell friend, Thane, waiting for her outside with a datapad in his hand.

He didn’t know it would be the last time he saw her for over a year.

A week passed, then two. He sent her a few messages asking how she’d managed to stay out of trouble for so long, but she didn’t reply. Word came down that he’d gotten the promotion to captain and he prepared to move, Shepard still on his mind.

It was better this way. He had to know Shepard would never stay in his life for long - she was too prone to running when people got close to her. Why hadn’t he learned anything from what she’d done to Castis? She’d cut him out of her life in the same way.

But if she was so afraid of commitment why had she built a makeshift family out of the idiot bounty hunters she lived with?

The real question was why them when he knew her so much better than anyone?

Maybe she would come back again, or reach out, but he couldn’t spend his life waiting around for Shepard to show up again. A new start in district 42 would be what he needed. Shepard was just a blip on the radar after all, wasn’t she? A case that had dragged into a friendship, but one which she had apparently ended as unceremoniously as it began.

It wasn’t love. He didn’t  _ love  _ her. It was ridiculous to love someone who was so hot and cold with him, who might never come back into his life.

_ He was in love with her. _

And now he had to forget her.

* * *

**2183  
** **Bachjret Ward - District 42  
April 1st**

Being a captain was not all it was cracked up to be. This much Chellick had learned over the last year as captain of the district 42 C-Sec office. Although his subordinates were hard workers, some of them were far too uptight, others too lax, and most recently - just within the last few months - he’d added a surprise new officer to the mix: Castis’ Vakarian’s son, Garrus.

Truth be told, Chellick liked Garrus. He was a bit hot-headed at times, and hugely naive about how much C-Sec could really do to combat crime in the wards, but he wanted to make a difference, and he wasn’t nearly as tightly wound as his old man. He’d joined up as part of the wards initiative, but Castis had specifically recommended Chellick’s station - this much Garrus had relayed back to him. 

‘Yeah, my dad...er, the executor, said there was no captain he recommended more than you.’

It was an odd bit of praise coming from Castis. Even if he didn’t know about all the bribes Chellick took from low level criminals, he undoubtedly knew Chellick had been doing favors for Jane Shepard right up until she dropped off the face of the station a year ago - for the second time since he’d met her. Still, he wasn’t going to turn his nose up at a competent officer on his team, and he would take any praise from the executor he could get.

Garrus had left the station an hour earlier with a bug up his butt about the escaped fugitive from the previous day’s bank heist. It was another one of his idealist runs, which Chellick indulged him in from time to time. Who cared if one of the criminals got away? They’d nabbed three of them and if her friends were stupid enough to get caught, they’d undoubtedly catch the fourth one on some other crime eventually. Thieves weren’t exactly high on Chellick’s list of concerns when there were drug lords and murderers running around.

He’d made a bet with himself that Garrus would come back empty handed.

Chellick was stuck covering desk duty while his officers were out on patrol, as boring a task as he could think of, but they didn’t have the funds for a receptionist and someone had to man the front desk from time to time. He  _ should _ have brought his datapad and worked on the mountains of paperwork he needed to get done, but twiddling his thumbs and playing a stupid game on his omni-tool was a lot more fun.

When the doors swung open announcing Garrus’ return, Chellick barely glanced up, expecting to find him empty handed. Instead, he found the very last thing he’d expected: a fiery red-head, decked out in a red jacket with a patch over the elbow where it had torn years earlier during a bounty run, green eyes ablaze, struggling in Garrus’ grip.

Garrus Vakarian had hand delivered Jane Shepard back into his life.

He did a double take and locked eyes with her. In return, she grinned and winked.

There were about a thousand questions running through his mind, but it was best to play it cool and not let Vakarian in on the nature of his long-running relationship with Shepard.

“ _ Shepard _ .” He let his eyes wander across the familiar contours of her body. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”   
  


**Author's Note:**

> So, I started writing this back in January of this year and have just kind of chipped away at it whenever I get particularly sad about Bounty being finished. I really wanted to write something in Chellick's POV and I thought delving a little bit into his complicated history with Shepard would be a great way to do that and also flesh out the details of their relationship more. I'm still completely touched and blown away with the reaction I got to Bounty, and I know that a lot of people grew really attached to Chellick (me too) so I hope that you guys enjoy this!
> 
> The title comes from the Mitski song of the same name, the lyrics to which I'm posting below as I feel they really encapsulate Chellick's one-sided love for Shepard.
> 
> "You're my number one  
> You're the one I want  
> And I've turned down every hand  
> That has beckoned me to come
> 
> 'Cause you're the one I got  
> You're the one I got  
> So I'll keep turning down the hands  
> That beckon me to come
> 
> Though I'm a geyser  
> Feel it bubbling from below  
> Hear it call, hear it call  
> Hear it call to me  
> Constantly  
> And hear the harmony  
> Only when it's harming me  
> It's not real, it's not real  
> It's not real enough
> 
> But I will be the one you need  
> The way I can't be without you  
> I will be the one you need  
> I just can't be without you"


End file.
